Age of Heroes

The Age of Heroes was an era during the history of Westeros which takes its name from the great men and women who lived in the years of peace that followed the forging of the Pact between the First Men and the children of the forest.

Many noble houses trace their family histories to the Age of Heroes and many stories, songs, and legends are told about it.[1] It is an era that is shrouded in mystery, with more myth than fact known about it. There are numerous tales from the Age of Heroes, too many to count. These histories were not recorded in books but passed down from generation to generation through story and song. While some of them may be dismissed as fairytales everyone one of the Seven Kingdoms is defined by them.

History

During that time, a hundred kingdoms rose and fell. This was a rugged time where many ancient traditions and legacies forged by the First Men were established, with influence from the children. Many of these customs live on among the lords of the North, who still bear the blood of the First Men in their veins. The laws of hospitality, the obligation of a judge to also be the executioner, and the renowned Wall are all accredited to these ancestors of the northmen; the barrows of the First Men can still be found throughout the North. This was the time when many legendary kings and heroes walked the earth, such as:

While much was achieved during this ancient era, it was at a cost - in the midst of the Age of Heroes fell the longest and blackest of winters - the Long Night which heralded the arrival of the Others. During this time it was also recorded by the Night's Watch that the children of the forest gave the defenders of the Wall a hundred obsidian daggers every year.[11]

Quotes

The oldest histories we have were written after the Andals came to Westeros. The First Men only left us runes on rocks, so everything we know about the Age of Heroes and the Dawn Age and the Long Night comes from accounts set down by septons thousands of years later. There are archmaesters at the Citadel who question all of it. Those old histories are full of kings who reigned for a hundred years, and knights riding around a thousand years before there were knights.[11]